The City Closes Motorino’s Williamsburg Location for Good

August 1, 2011

Alas. It turns out that critically lauded pizza is no match for the Department of Buildings.

Such is the experience of Motorino‘s original Williamsburg location, which Eater reports is closing for good. The Department of Buildings just shut down Mathieu Palombino’s restaurant, which has sat at 319 Graham Avenue for two and a half years. Last fall, the building appeared to be sinking into the ground and apparently couldn’t be fixed to the city’s liking; “the stupidity of our landlord is a force we were not able to overcome,” Palombino said in a statement to Eater.

The chef, who opened a second location of Motorino in the East Village in 2009, also vowed to reopen the pizzeria in another location, and is still hard at work readying his Bowery diner for its planned fall opening.

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